It was the best of kits, it was the worst of kits: a Tale of One Tank Car (with apologies to Mr. Dickens)

I recently picked up a classic "GRAMPS" tank car kit in HOn3 made by Precision Scale, from a Facebook B-S-T group.

Let me begin by saying it is an excellent kit and worth adding to your personal narrow gauge empire. But that comes with a warning and a few recommendations. 

Back in the 80s when I first began collecting HOn3 DRGW trains, everything was either imported brass ($$$) or kits, usually in plastic, sometimes in brass, or a blend. Any of those available at the time could be built into a faithful, and quite detailed replica of the original, but required skills beyond those of the typical model railroader. I had obtained a box car, flat car, stock car, caboose, even a few parlor cars over the years, and an MDC loco kitted out as DRGW 375 to pull them.

But until very recently, I had never come across one of the unique "GRAMPS" tank cars seen on the Grande from the mid 30s until 1964 (more on their story here ). Courtesy of a fellow modeler thinning out his collection, I was able to get one for, comparatively,  a song.

Now please notice the "fine print" below the heading.

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Same instructions and packaging for plastic trucks and details, as for brass trucks and details.

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And therein lies the tale.

In retrospect, my theory is that the instructions were written with plastic details in mind. 

Most of the construction is straightforward and simple. But if your kit has Brass details and trucks, I strongly recommend you read on, and Do Not follow the instructions as written.

-The Tank. Complete it as written. Attach to the frame as written. Do not add handrails to the tank, nor brake rigging to the frame, yet.

The tank straps are flat brass. You have a choice. If you use the kit material, measure the length needed with a paper strip substitute. Cut the two straps off where the tank meets the frame. Make your own tank hold down rods to connect the strap to the fittings on the frame. This is neither covered or mentioned in the instructions. Find a good model photo like the below to guide you.

Trying to feed the straps under the handrails, without damaging anything else is not possible. 

As an alternative,  make your own straps from wine bottle foil. You'll still need to make your own hold downs.

Once installed, add handrails, brake detail as instructed. 

Addendum: To save trouble during decal application,  do not intall the brake chain until after the car end decals have been applied.

-(Brass) Trucks.

It appears that the trucks are "unfinished". Not just unassembled, but requiring additional machining to enable the wheels to turn...

You will not be able to "snap" the side frames onto the bolster. You'll need to file off the tabs that prevent assembly. I also needed to spread the long edges of the bolster to allow the tiny machine screws to fit and the trucks to rotate. This will in turn require manual bending of the brake shoe arms so they don't rub the wheels. But wait, there's more...

Journal box, inside-you will need a #55 drill to deepen the hole for the wheel. You will need something like the MicroMark truck tuner (link) to open up the journals to match the axle contour. I used a process as follows. Ten turns of the #55 drill. 2 turns of the tuner. All 4 journals. Assemble and check. Repeat until it rolls freely. Expect it to take multiple iterations. 

Trucks, part 2. There was no hole to allow the "shoulder" screw to pass through the bolster, you'll need to drill it out, and open it up with a round file yourself. 

Trucks, part 3.

The journal box covers are cast as separate pieces. They appear to be designed to enable a small tab on the cover to fit into a small cylindrical slot. Push in, add tiny drop of ACC. But no. All the tabs are oversized.  I had removed them from the brass sprue before discovering this. Don't. File off all the tabs first, then removethem. It's supremely difficult to do after they're removed from the sprue.

Glue them in place after truck assembly (above) with a bit of thick ACC. 

It does build up into a very respectable model. Yes, you need to do a lot of seam filling and smoothing on the top tank seam. The Rail Graphics decals are excellent,  balancing detail, strength, and ability to be pushed and pulled into position, responding well to solvaset.

I would not hesitate to buy and build this kit again. But the build could do with a lot less cursing and frustration if you modify the instructions as noted. Good luck!